Since it was first proposed in 1868 by the French doctor Charcot, multiple sclerosis (MS) has been a disease that is still extremely difficult to treat in the world. It is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes myelin destroyed in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve fiber layer, at last, affects the normal nerve and cause physical disabilities. Because the high recurrence rate and morbidity, the chronic course and tendency to be developed in young people, MS has become a common and serious nervous system disease. Usually, MS outbreaks reach the peak at the age of around 30, thus, it causes serious damage to people's productivity and quality of life. At the same time, it makes great burden to the government, society, and economic development.
At present, there is no specific treatment for MS clinically, neither is there satisfactory therapeutic drugs. Glucocorticoid is usually given in acute phase of MS, and interferon—γ, Glatiramer acetate, Natalizumab for the relapse—remission phase. Autologous stem cell transplantation is considered in patients with severe disease. Although hormone therapy could alleviate symptoms in acute stage, the obvious side effects limits its long-term application. Single target drugs such as IFN-β, GA and Natalizumab are not only expensive but also prone to produce resistance. The drugs mentioned above are subject to intravenous or subcutaneous injection dosage, which can not effectively improve MS relapse and demyelinating fundamental problems. Therefore, oral drugs that effective control MS is of great significance. Traditional Chinese medicines have the characteristics of multiple targets and the action of system adjustment, which show certain medication advantages in treating complexity and refractory diseases such as MS.
The line leaf inula flower (Inula lineariifolia Turcz. (syn. Inula linariaefolia)) is a perennial herb that belongs to the family of Asteracece and the genus of Inula, and has the common names of narrow-leaf inula flower, long-leaf inula flower, and small inula flower. They widely grow in the northeast, north, central, and eastern China, such as Henan, Hebei, and other provinces, and in Mongolia, North Korea, far east Russia, and Japan. It commonly grows in hills, wasteland, road, river, etc. Chinese traditional medicine inula flowers are the capitulum of the inula flowers or big flower inula flowers, and the entire herbal plant (gold boiling grass) may be used for medicinal purpose. Line leaf inula flowers have been used as the inula flowers in east China and other parts of China, and has been used for ventilation, diuresis, anti-inflammatory, softening hard masses, etc., and recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (1963 edition); however, line leaf inula flowers have ceased to be used as a medicine, as the patient, after being served, has the reactions of nausea, vomiting, etc.